Kate Jackson and collaborators

Kate is a well established Dance Artist and has worked extensively with Contemporary Dance Theatre companies and choreographers Nationally. Her own work is now at the forefront of her focus and most recently she has been busy with Airplane of Flowers new solo for LEAP festival 2018.

At Kate Jackson and collaborators we create dance theatre work which looks at Contemporary issues over-looked by society, as a project based company we have recently created a solo for Leap Festival in Liverpool as part of the dance festival hosted by Mdi.

Airplane of Flowers worked with new graduate Abbi Henderson as a female character with sound created by Lee Affren for immersive solo experience.

Abbi cooks, speaks, story-tells and dances with emotional impact. She’s a really warm and friendly person and we captured this in the solo. We want the solo to speak to audiences and people who don’t know dance or theatre but who can resonate with the issues we are focusing on in the work.

Creating the work so to enable a journey for the audience which embraces the experience of a closer proximity to be heightened and recognises that step of trust the audience take towards the work.

The solo speaks from a female perspective and is a small stand against the storm of violence against women and children in terrorist attacks and the need now in that light to hold tighter to our understanding of community and oneness as folk in unity. The solo celebrates the innocence of life, the great social part of being human that makes us all connected and loved and the ability within in us all to survive and recover.

Airplane of Flowers looks at the effects of terrorism, over a year and half of research talking with organisations, charities and communities who support people affected by terrorism the after care that is in place and shift of social consciousness towards embracing the change upon a community or a family or an individual.

Its deep stuff from our side and the magic we aim to deliver is through the subject landing with the audience through warmth, humour and emotion..

Past Work:

Witness is a unique and immersive dance theatre experience that focuses in low level mental health states,depression, anxiety and isolation. Focused on the well being experience of audiences four characters draw you into their realities lead you into their stories take you into their worlds as the grounds of witness unfold.

supported by Arts Council England, Culture Warrington, Tatton Park and Cheshire East Council and MDI

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Witness

Kate Jackson and collaborators

17th-23rd Oct at Tatton Park 2016

CAST and CREATIVES

Bettina Carpi is a Swiss-Italian dance artist based in the UK. Having found her love for performance and a deep curiosity and passion for exploring physicality and the body’s possibility for expression during her dance training at the Studio Buehne Bern, she went on to study contemporary dance and choreography at the London Contemporary Dance School. After graduation she worked as a dancer for various dance companies and choreographers in London, and was lucky to dance with CandoCo Dance Company for 8 years, touring internationally (North and South America, Europe and Asia) as well as performing at the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics. Other highlights so far have been performing the award winning dance theatre piece ‘Metamorphosis’ and ‘The World’s Greatest Show’ at the Royal Opera House in London and New York. Bettina is an Visiting Lecturer at the University of Chester and Edge Hill.

Jacqueline McCormick: Creative Mentor and Cast Dance artist performing and making dances for over thirty years, both in the USA and Europe. Her work has been greatly influenced by research into Contact Improvisation and Authentic Movement. Jacqueline has an M.A in Dance from Mills College California and has been; Associate Professor in Dance at Western Oregon University (1985-1996) and Connecticut College, USA (2000-2004). She directs and performs in her company DanceAbout, works that take a dancing journey through the outback of the self.

Malachi Simmons: Cast trained at Edgehill University has worked with Company Chameleon on Stride and WOW Warrington, teaches regionally with 12 Degrees North and EDGEfwd. Independent Freelance choreographer working Internationally with Bermuda Civic ballet. Excellent mixed skills artist with high quality training and significant contributions to Dance across the Cheshire region and Bermuda. Most recently Lead education to youth dance Stride for Company Chameleon in the U dance 2016 performance held at The Lowry Manchester.

Lauren Tucker : Cast Trained at Liverpool John Moores University and 12 Degrees North Graduate Dance Company. North-West freelance dance artist Lauren has worked with Gary Clarke, Antonia Grove, Alesandra Seutin, Filip Van Huffell, James Wilton, and Lisi Perry. She toured her solo work as part of Northern Dance Platforms in 2016. She is dance development artist for Cheshire Dance.

Rosalind Noctor : Costume Designer has a full professional history as a contemporary dance artist and has been working in costume design alongside her performance work working across the UK and Israel Tel Aviv with company Inbal Pinto. Her work in the UK includes four years with Fleur Darkin Ensemble as a performer. Designing for MAP Dance and Laban Conservatoire.Touring globally Roaslind has an extensive history combining her costume designs with her knowledge of performance and dance making.

Richard Owen : Lighting Designer with over twenty years experience of lighting various styles of productions various scales of theatre. Also a senior Production lectrician with over seventeen years experience of producing theatre. The last nine years as a ‘Head of Department’ with two of the major regional producing theatres in Britain. Royal Exchange Theatre and The National Theatre. Richard is continuously in artistic practise with theatre that evokes through theatre in the round and Large scale theatres. his contribution to this work is unique and with much experience he will bring to the design Also a senior Production Electrician with over seventeen years experience of producing theatre. The last nine years as a ‘Head of Department’ with two of the major regional producing theatres in Britain.

Daniel Thomas : Sound Designer is an experimental noise artist based in Leeds. Daniel has performed and recorded as a solo artist over the past two decades and is also a member of Hagman, TST and Cans, whilst running the labels Sheepscar Light Industrial and Cherry Row Recordings. Over the last decade he's worked in the world of contemporary dance with the likes of Gary Clarke, Flight Effect Dance Company, Cscape Dance, Simon Birch, Kate Jackson, Debbi Purtill Dance, The Space Cadets (Scottish School of Contemporary Dance).Dan will create the sound for the performance he works with other contemporary dance artists in the North and has worked in sound design for over ten years. Based in Leeds Dan has been closely affiliated with Yorkshire artists working at Northern School of Contemporary Dance but mainly his work is based in an independent field of electronic music

Kate has been researching Pratyahara one of the eight limbs of yoga the withdrawl of the senses and the benefits that it provides to well being. Her research has been developed into the creation of the Witness which will explore the benefits of performance for the well being of the audience and will focus on Empowerment. Using Costumes, Lighting Design and a Sound score designed for witness.

The Dance, Theatre and Story-Telling will weave through the amazing grounds of National Trust, Tatton Park Knutsford journeying the audience to extraordinary settings and experiences. Designed uplifting and embodied moments take president. The cast are stunningly talented, the audience will walk beside them throughout, small numbers of maximum 20 people per performance. With partnership with Merseyside Dance Intiative the work has manage to reach a broad range of audiences, Kates research will cover the wellbeing effects translated in the experiencing of performance. In this creation. Supported by Cheshire East and hosted by Tatton Park, this creation will aim to be portable and to visit difefrent locations.

The work will aim to measure wellbeing, using WEMWBS and Manchester Metrics pilot.

EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMME

Kate and collaborators worked with Wishing Well Project in Crewe with two Programmes to deliver well being class and yoga for mums and carers and also over 50's both groups were engaged for 6 weeks in the Empowerment Programme. As part of the work Kate worked with organisations who could connect with the support of mental health issues and help to bring awareness. the low level mental health issues in depression, anxiety and isolation were key in the development of the work in the performance.

Motherwell CIC were able to engage with the Empowerment Programme also based in Crewe, they have an organisation aimed at providing wellness for new parents. Kate delivered the Empowerment Programme as a mums and baby class.

To engage with Empowerment Programme, contact Kate and discuss the idea or the group of people you want to engage in this programme. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .